PowerPoint 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual

Chapter 5. Editing Your Slideshow

• Viewing Multiple Slides

• Adding, Deleting, and Moving Slides

• Inserting Slides from Other Slideshows

• Editing Slide and Layout Masters

• Adding Headers and Footers

If you want to give a great presentation, then you have to practice. But if you're like most folks, every time you fire up PowerPoint, clear your throat, and start rehearsing, you find a few places in your slideshow that need tweaking. For example, you may realize that you've duplicated information on a couple of slides. Or maybe you discover that you've forgotten to cover a critical point, or decide that a small graphic on each slide would reinforce your message. Or, worst of all, you realize that the way you've organized your content is all wrong.

FROM THE FIELD: I've Got Good News and Bad News…

Most presentations fit into one of three broad categories, and thinking about which category your message falls into helps you organize your content effectively: good news, bad news, and here's some stuff you should know.

• Good news. The classic example of a good news presentation is the sales pitch, where the good news is that your widget will bring health, wealth, and increased productivity to every customer smart enough to buy it.

  If you're giving a good news presentation, then consider placing your main point—the benefit your audience can expect—both at the beginning and end of your presentation. Always finish a good news presentation by telling your audience specifically what they ...